Beyond the surface
by SeekingSolaceProject
Summary: My Beloved Warning: Shonenai Stop comparing who you are to who you want to be, let's step out beyond the surface... GuyxAsch, LukexTear, possible AschxNatalia and NataliaxLuke, and others
1. Prolouge

**My beloved**

Summary: "He was said to be dead only to have his life stolen by someone unknown. Now he must live in the rest of his life in the shadows of his life-taker"

Couple(s): GuyxAsch, LukexTear[Possible NataliaxAsch

Rated: T for Teens, because of later chapters...might become an M...

Random notes: This is an AU, so nothing in the game happened in here. It's kind of um...my version on the game...without the whole saving the world kind of thing. But anyways, read on and you'll find out. Please read and review, thank you very much! Oh yea, and I just wanted to say that I'm from N.America, so they spell Guy's real name _Gailardia _instead of_ Gaillardia_. How it's suppose to be spelled, I think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss.

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Chapter one: Prologue 

My grasp on him slowly began to fade when I gained this new life. I can only watch him day and night, almost like and eagle searching for its prey. Nine years he lived with a replica of me, not even realizing that it's _not_ me.

---Flashback begins---

"Where have you been, Luke? I've been searching everywhere for you," the young blonde questioned out of breathe. The said male looked at the blonde in a confused manner.

"I'm-" the red head tried to defend himself but was quickly cut off by the blonde's rambling again.

"I know you're mad at me, but…I swear I'll get you ice cream to cheer you up…" he pouted with a sad expression plastered onto his face.

"I…" the red head replied, not sure of what to say to in reply to the ice cream part. "…I don't know you…" In that instant, the blonde grabbed the younger child's hand.

"Don't say scary things like that," his eyebrows furrowed. "Ever since the fire, you've been acting very different. I just want to cheer you up." His grip tightened around the red head's hand.

_My name's Luke and I was caught up in a fire…that's why I can't remember this caring friend in front of me._ He shut his eyes tightly, slightly remembering the stings of the fire on his skin.

"Gailardia, right?" He finally questioned after a long period of silence. An instant smile crossed the blonde's face as he pulled his friend into a tight hug.

"Ice cream it is, Luke," he happily dragged his red haired friend to their favorite ice cream shop and quickly bought their favorite flavors in a waffle bowl dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles.

Luke quickly licked away at it as they sat on the bench together, underneath the simmering sun. "You know, Luke…" the blonde said, breaking the silence and gaining the red head's attention. After a few seconds, he realized that his friend wasn't going to continue.

"What is it?" Luke finally questioned, taking another lick at his melting ice cream.

"I like you…a lot…"he bit down on his bottom lip. "I know that you like Natalia a lot, but it just gets me so mad that…"he paused, thinking of the right words to say. "I wish…I'd have your heart…because, you know, you have my heart…" a smile appeared on the blonde's face, he finally got that off his chest.

"G-Gailardia…" Luke instantly looked away. Next to him was a stranger that bought him ice cream and confessed his love to him, also telling him that he liked some other person. Of course the red head's mind was going through a bunch of things right now.

"Never mind I said that, my mom even told me that it was creepy to like another boy," he scratched the back of his head with a sigh as he jumped off the bench. "Anyways, stay right here, okay? I'll be back with your present." The blonde smiled blissfully, waving his hand as he ran.

"Gailardia likes me…a lot…" he said to himself as a smile appeared on his face. "I think…I'll like him a lot too…" He continued to eat his ice cream, realizing that his newly found friend didn't even touch his ice cream, instead, he left it on the bench. He smiled faintly at the melting ice cream and decided on waiting for his friend.

Minutes passed before he heard the blonde's voice again, shouting his name, but it seemed too far away to have been talking to him, but he still lifted his head in response.

"Luke, I thought I told you to wait at the bench," Guy whined as the red head at the bench's eyes widened in surprise. There was someone who looked identical to him that Guy was talking to.

"What are you talking about? You haven't even bought me ice cream yet," the red head proclaimed, crossing his arms in an annoyed manner.

"Yes I did," Guy defended, and in that instant, the _Luke_ that was sitting on the bench dashed away into hiding. "We were sitting over there," he pointed his finger to the abandoned bench.

"What are you, stupid? I was with Natalia this whole time. Now go get me some ice cream!" Luke demanded as his eyes caught sight of the present in his hand.

"A-alright…" Guy quickly ran back to the ice cream shop only to be pulled back.

"Is that my birthday present?" Luke pointed his finger to the wrapped box that his friend was holding. Guy nodded as a small blush crossed his face. "My birthday party's tonight give it to me then. Seriously, what makes you think you're so special that you can give it to me earlier?" He turned around and walked away.

Luke hid in the trees until the other red head left the blonde's side as he walked into the store again. He quickly followed the blonde into the store, not hearing what the two had just previously talked about.

"Gailardia…" an embarrassed, yet loud voice said behind that blonde, which made him jump in surprise.

"L-Luke…I thought you left…" he slowly turned around to face the red head. "I was going to buy you ice cream, and…well…"

"That's okay, you already bought it for _me_…" he smiled innocently as he walked closer to the blonde. "But if I cloud, may I have the present now?" He wanted the present, and even though he didn't hear what they talked about earlier, he wanted the present, he didn't want the other _Luke_ to get the present.

"B-but…"

"May I have it now?" He asked with pleading eyes.

"A-alright…"Guy smiled and handed him a small box. "You could open it if you want…" A small blush crept onto his face. "I mean-"

"I think I can grow to like you a lot, Gailardia." Luke gave him a small, tight less hug before opening the box.

"I heard from Van that you like sword-fighting," the blonde smiled faintly as Luke stared down to the small hand-made necklace. "It's a design I've been thinking of, I mean…" he shook his head and looked away. "I'm trying to make the actual sword, but I couldn't finish it so-"

"Could you put it on me?" Luke interrupted, not paying much attention to the blonde's rambling. He was in too much awe at the beautifully crafted design. Indeed, he was looking forward to when Guy had completed the actual sword.

"S-sure…" he smiled blissfully, reaching over to place it perfectly around his neck. They stayed in that position for awhile before a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Luke's waist. "Thank you, Luke…for everything," he smiled into the red head's neck.

---Flashback ends---

That was the first and last time we talked since that accident with the fire. I didn't want to cause him anymore trouble than I already had. Indeed, he did finish the sword and gave it to Luke, but he didn't mention anything about the necklace.

I was found nine years ago in the ashes of an abandoned facility. Saphir found me and named me Asch, I went with that name for a few days, until that time when I found out it was really Luke. So I began to go by that name, but I was replaced and no longer needed, so I went back to being Asch. As for Saphir, he took on the name Dist so he could undergo his illegal replica experiments, which, he thinks I'm one.

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So, there's that. I hope you enjoyed it...and I'll be looking forward to reviews...thanks again for reading! 


	2. Small differences

**My beloved**

Summary: "He was said to be dead only to have his life stolen by someone unknown. Now he must live in the rest of his life in the shadows of his life-taker"

Couple(s): GuyxAsch, LukexTear[Possible NataliaxAsch, NataliaxLuke, and others

Rated: T for Teens, because of later chapters...might become an M...

Random notes: This is an AU, so nothing in the game happened in here. It's kind of um...my version on the game...without the whole saving the world kind of thing. But anyways, read on and you'll find out. Please read and review, thank you very much! Oh yea, and I just wanted to say that I'm from N.America, so they spell Guy's real name _Gailardia _instead of_ Gaillardia_. How it's suppose to be spelled, I think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of the Abyss.

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Chapter two: Small differences

He blinked once, twice, then three times trying to clear the blurry vision before him. His face was emotionless and he didn't know what to think at all. His mind was blank, his mouth couldn't move and…his ears were flooded with the sound of a sobbing woman.

"Luke, it really _is_ you…" a gentle hand touched his own, causing him to flinch slightly at the foreign feeling, but still he couldn't move. He felt sore, but no pain, he felt frozen but not cold or even…stunned. His heart continued to pound, the sound getting louder to his ears.

"Say something, Luke," the female voice continued, but the red head did nothing in response. His mind continued to ask himself about everything that he saw, but never finding a single answer.

"Susanne, he is just a replica…he has no memories of the past. Remember, the doctor said that he is like a new born child…we must re-teach him everything _if_ we want him to be like _Luke_," a hand placed itself upon the woman's shoulder, attempting to comfort her.

"I know, but it's _still _Luke…he's still_ our_ son," her eyes continued to leak out the endless tears. "Honey, doesn't he matter _just as much_? We can _pretend_ that it's the _real_ one…I'll love him twice as much because…I don't want to lose him a second time." Her grip on her son's hand tightened as the liquid substance refused to lessen.

"_My_ son died and will _not_ be replaced by _this_ replica. If you refuse to accept that, then there's nothing I can do. He may _look_ like Luke, but he will _never_ be _my _son." The older male turned towards the door. "If you insist on him _being_ Luke, then teach him the _ways_ that Luke knows." With that said, he left the hospital never to return to visit the red head child.

"Fabre-san, is Luke okay?" The little blonde boy questioned, instantly attaching himself onto the older male. "I'm sorry, it was my fault…I should've been watching him better. Please don't-"

"Gailardia!" Duke shouted, startling the young boy, which made the tears in his eyes roll down his cheeks. "He's okay, he might have…some brain damage, but it will heal over time." He harshly pushed away the annoying blonde and continued his walk out the door.

Guy was relieved, Luke wasn't dead. After the other kids ran away to get help, he went into the burning building to find Luke, but fainted before. He woke up in the hospital with a few sore muscles, but nothing life-threatening…and heard that Luke was also in the hospital with serve burns.

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It's been a month since I was born, yet I'm still deprived of any human contact except for my mother's, if I can even call her that. I was forced to study the faces of those around me, forced to learn about our relationships and worse of all…forced to live a life that's not even mines.

Every night I heard a boy's voice through my hospital door. He would talk to me for hours, though I wouldn't reply, and tell me how sorry he is. Every once in awhile, he would start crying, very faintly though, and apologize over and over again. I wasn't sure why he was sorry…I wasn't even sure who he was. And well, tonight wasn't that different from all the others.

"Luke, are you still in there?" The voice came again, calling my name over and over as if I would finally answer him. "You're probably asleep, you were never really a night person anyways," I heard a small chuckle and a frown remained on my face.

"Are you…Guy?" I finally questioned and instantly, I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Luke, you're awake!" He nearly shouted, but it sounded muffled, like he was suppressing it as well. "Why didn't you answer me before? My goodness I'm so-" and his voice instantly stopped, it caused my heart to stop as well. He was the only person that ever tried talking to be besides my mother.

"Guy, are you there?" I jumped down from my bed and walked to the door. Did he get caught? Even I knew that no was allowed to visit this late at night.

"You…don't remember me…do you?" He questioned in a whisper, followed by a small _thud_, which I assumed was him banging his head on the door.

"No…" It was an instantly reply, I didn't want him to know that I was _just_ a replica. If he did, he might never come back and visit me. "Your voice just matured over the month…you sound different." I smiled faintly for the first time and leaned against the door, longing to touch the _friend_ that was longing for me as well.

"Oh," he replied softly and I guess he changed his position because there was some noise. "I'm glad you didn't forget me…if you did…you'll never…I'll never forgive myself." Once again, he began crying…just like all the other nights.

"_I'll_ forgive you though…because, even if I didn't remember, I know that you would've continued to remind me." I sighed and slid to my butt. In a way, I didn't want to forgive him, because he was the _real_ Luke's best friend, and he was one of the kids that started the fire. He's the reason why I'm living this life, dedicating myself to a future that was never meant to be mines.

Eventually, after I left the hospital, we began to hang out a lot. He would come over everyday just to do nothing…and I began to grow a deep connection towards him, despite my hatred. I pushed him away, saying every mean comment I could at any given time, but he continued to come back, saying that he forgave me. The sole reason for my actions…is because I care too much about him to let him find out that I'm a replica.

About a week after I was let out, we had my ninth birthday party. That's when I purposely got mad at him for no reason and forced him to buy me ice cream. Since that day, he's been acting very different, but who wouldn't? I thought I was looking straight into a mirror that night when I saw the _real _me looking up to my window that night. His eyes were filled with lost, hopelessness, envy, pain…and worse of all, a broken heart with a stolen future.

------

"Remember, Luke?" The blonde happily said handing him a large wrapped up box. "I finished it a couple weeks ago…I hope you like it," a smile crossing his features. Luke quickly tore away at it, revealing a beautifully crafted sword.

"Remember what?" Luke finally questioned, picking up the sword and eyeing his friend out of the corner of his eyes.

"On your-" he stopped mid-sentence, realizing that Luke no longer had on the necklace from four years ago. His gaze went to the ground as he shook his head, "Never mind, it's nothing." He smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head;

"Whatever," Luke shrugged it off as he continued to swing the sword around, trying to get use to the weight. "You think master Van will let me use a real sword in training?" His smile was wide.

"I'll talk to him about it," Guy said softly with a faint smile. "I'm sure-"

"Luke!" A female voice shouted out of breath. "Tomorrow's your thirteenth birthday, you're suppose to be home practicing the ceremony with me!" She shrieked, grabbing the male by the wrist harshly.

"Natalia, I-" the blonde tried to defend his friend but received a glare. He had promised himself four years ago to steal Luke's heart since he was informed that Luke _might_ like him as well. But, like how the old saying goes, promises can be broken, and his never had a start.

"Why do you think I ran away, Natalia? I don't want to get married to you!" Luke quickly pulled his arm back and pouted. "I don't even like you." In that instant, tears developed in the young female blonde's eyes as she began to hic-up. On the other hand, Guy's heart nearly stopped beating…Luke _didn't _like Natalia anymore?

"What are you saying, Luke? I thought you _loved_ Natalia," Guy questioned under his breath, the shock still striking him hard. He glanced over to Natalia, and for the first time ever, he felt pity got her. "Natalia…"

"Let's go Guy, if you're always here to comfort her then she'll never learn how to grow up…" Luke rolled his eyes as he turned to walk away.

"But…" Guy defended, although he did want to leave the crying female, something inside of him refused to. Maybe it was the fact that Luke _use_ _to_ like her.

"Come on Guy, I thought you were _my_ friend. Geez, you're sounding like you have feelings for Natalia too or something." He sighed heavily, turning back around. He glared at Guy as he reached out his hand, waiting for the other to take it.

"No, it's not that…" he whispered softly, looking at the ground. "I'm not going to take your hand, Luke. Stop pretending to be tough, I know that you _love_ Natalia!" He shook his head in confusion. "I swear that I love you more than she does, but I won't take your hand now because this isn't you!" With that said, he dashed away in the opposite direction.

Both Luke and Natalia stood in shock. Of course you would assume that it was because he had just confessed his love, but Luke's mind didn't care about that. Guy was already noticing the small differences between him and the _real_ Luke. Why if Guy never returned to him? Why if he found out that he was just a _replica_ and suddenly stopped being friends with him? It wasn't the _love_ that Luke feared, it was the lost of a _perfect_ friend.

"I'm sorry Luke, I should've been more considerate of Guy's feelings. Please give him my apologies," she bowed as the tears continued to stain her pale cheeks. She instantly ran off as well, feeling very embarrassed at herself for her dumb actions.

"No…don't leave me alone…" he fell to his knees, the sword dropping to the left side of him. "Don't leave me alone Guy…don't return to _him_…" For the first time in four years, the replica shed endless tears that evening.

"You've been crying for hours…why are you so sad?" A young female questioned as she sat down next to the still crying male. Although one of her eyes was covered by her pale brown hair, you could still see the worry in her eyes. "I've been on the swing for awhile, and the whole time I was there yo-"

Luke instantly clutched onto her shoulders, burying his face into her chest. She jumped in surprise, but didn't protest despite the uncomfortable position. She sighed to herself as she wrapped her arms around the stranger and let him continue crying.

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Yea, I know...it's very confusing...but I'd just like to point out, if it makes it easier to understand, that Luke calls Guy 'Guy' and Asch calls Guy 'Gailardia'. Anyways, I really hope that you like it so far and will continue to read it, alright? Thanks for reading and please review! I know that they are very out of character right now, but I'm trying my best! Anyways, I wasn't too sure about a thirteen years old girl's reaction would be, being touched in the chest like that from a male.

REVIEW PLEASE!


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